Cyril Svoboda leaves for US official visit

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda left for the United States on Wednesday for a three-day official visit. Mr Svoboda is expected to meet his US counterpart Colin Powell and other senior US politicians. Besides holding talks on bilateral and international relations, Mr Svoboda hopes to visit an ice-hockey game with Czech NHL star Jaromir Jagr and officially open a park with a statue of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. Next week, Mr Svoboda is expected to visit Vietnam, the Philippines, and New Zealand.